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Andrew LopezESPN
After watching New Orleans Pelicans striker Zion Williamson go out and cross his team to 38 points (and 18 free throws) Saturday night, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle had nothing to do with how to protect it.
“He’s an unusual force and obviously a great player,” Carlisle said after visiting Mavs fell 112-103. “Next time we will have to discover something a little better, but it does it to everyone. We had very good possessions that guarded it, but it was a beast.
“It presents huge challenges for the defense and for the officers. It just creates collisions out there. It’s a Shaquille O’Neal-type natural force with a set of punctual guard skills.”
Williamson, who had just won 39 points in Friday night’s home loss to the Denver Nuggets, followed up with 38 points in the 13 of 20 shootout to add six assists and five rebounds. Along the stretch, the Pelicans leaned even more toward Williamson.
He scored or helped in the Pelicans ’last 14 points on Saturday, all in the final at 2:47, and helped the Pelicans take a 98-95 lead at the time and leave the game out of play.
“I want to make the best play that helps us win,” Williamson said. “Sometimes it’s about knowing when to shoot it and when not to shoot it. When to pass and when not to pass. I just want to win. It’s as simple as that.”
New Orleans could not put the game away on Friday and eventually fell into the hands of the Nuggets. Williamson said that competition and the loss it involved played a “tiny role” in his aggression in the fourth quarter on Saturday, but that it was ultimately a new game.
As Williamson handles the ball more and more, his teammates begin to see him become someone who can take on the games in the final minutes.
“It’s really nice to be able to get in there and know the angles of the basket and know the angles of everything around the edge,” Pelicans striker Brandon Ingram said. “Being as efficient as him, going to the edge and sometimes getting a foul and playing with it, it’s nice to see it.”
Pelicans guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker said he’s not surprised Williamson does the right readings, because he’s seen it happen over and over again this season.
“He’s a great player and very selfless,” Alexander-Walker said. “He made the winning plays tonight.”
When he didn’t, Williamson would frequently go to the line. He had season highs with 12 free throws made and 18 free throw attempts.
Carlisle said defending Williamson has become “a real challenge.”
“You have to have a lot of courage to stop there and let yourself be run over by this guy, because he comes to you fast,” Carlisle said. “It’s coming at you, like it’s just an Amtrak. It’s an Acela. It’s the fast one that doesn’t stop. It doesn’t stop in Westport or anywhere else. It just goes – uh! – straight to New York City. It’s something else. “
Saturday’s start was Williamson’s second straight game with at least 35 points, five rebounds and five assists, joining Anthony Davis as the only players in the franchise’s history to make it into consecutive games.
Williamson became the eighth player of the shooting clock era (since 1954-55) to have at least 75 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting more than 70% from the field in a two-game period. , according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
According to ESPN Stats & Information’s investigation, it was Williamson’s eleventh career game with at least 30 points while shooting 60% or better from the field, breaking the tie with LeBron James for most of the history of the NBA before a player’s 21st birthday.
Williamson also became the first player since O’Neal in 1995-96 to have four straight games with 25 points while shooting 65% or better.
But while all the acknowledgments and comparisons are nice, Williamson made it clear how he wants to be.
“It’s an honor to hear my name in these categories,” Williamson said, “but I’m who I am.”